


Goodbye, My Life, My Love, My Lady

by takemebacktokansas



Category: Wizards of Waverly Place
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Vampire, Ambiguous/Open Ending, F/M, Gen, POV Jerry Russo, Vignette
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-13
Updated: 2020-09-13
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:59:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,626
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26436043
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/takemebacktokansas/pseuds/takemebacktokansas
Summary: Things are different now, and it's far from a good thing.
Relationships: Alex Russo & Jerry Russo, Alex Russo & Justin Russo & Max Russo, Jerry Russo/Theresa Russo, Justin Russo & Jerry Russo, Justin Russo/Juliet van Heusen, Max Russo & Jerry Russo, Russo Family - Relationship, Theresa Russo & Alex Russo, Theresa Russo & Justin Russo, Theresa Russo & Max Russo
Kudos: 12





	Goodbye, My Life, My Love, My Lady

**Author's Note:**

> This was a request from u/Kkatelynnr on Reddit after I made a post on the WoWP subreddit. Naturally, I have my personal preference for what would have happened, but I figured out what the story wanted

Things are different now.

Things are different now, and it’s far from a good thing.

Jerry didn’t notice anything at first. When she stopped going to bed at night, he figured it had something to do with an uncomfortable mattress (one that they had not replaced since they were first married, and his back paid for it). She had never really gone to bed early before – she had always been a night owl, and when the children were born, she slept even less than usual.

When Theresa avoided the sub shop, Jerry sniffed around in the back and decided that cheaping out was no longer an option. With Justin’s help, they threw out all the old food and ordered fresh food, and with Harper’s planning, they were able to make a profit and consistently order new food.

When Theresa kept complaining of a headache whenever sunlight tried to break through the drapes, Jerry thought she was getting sick, so he went to the drug store and bought her some over-the-counter medication. None of it worked, and he briefly panicked, thinking that there was a fourth child on the way.

Justin reminded him that, based on Theresa’s hot flashes, it was not a coming child but menopause that was the more likely culprit.

It was only after Jerry had learned of Megan’s death in a car accident, and he went to Theresa, and he put his head on her chest that he realized that there was something wrong.

He could hear no heartbeat.

*

Jerry wasn’t a wizard anymore, but he would stand up against a vampire anyways. He wasn’t a wizard anymore, but he would be damned if he didn’t do everything in his power to protect his wife.

Naturally, though – since he isn’t a wizard – he decides to “talk” to the vampire with the soul.

He waits until Justin kisses Juliet goodnight, and then he steps out of the shadows and grabs Juliet’s elbow.

The fangs come out, but before she can turn into a bat, she looks up and sees Jerry. She takes a breath, tilts her head, and glares at him. “Why did you grab me, Mr. Russo?”

He isn’t a wizard anymore, but he will fight for his family. His voice shakes with anger. “Why did you turn my wife into a vampire?”

Juliet blinks and her eyebrows dip together. “Wait, what?”

“Theresa,” Jerry says, and his voice still shakes, although he doesn’t know if it’s still from anger or if it’s from grief. He takes a breath. “She has no heartbeat. She can’t stand sunlight, and she hasn’t been in any direct sunlight for weeks. She doesn’t sleep. She gags when Max and I walk into a room. There are two tiny puncture wounds on her neck.”

Juliet shakes her head. “Mr. Russo, trust me, it wasn’t me. I- I would never do that.” She holds her free hand up to her chest. “I don’t bite people. I do suck their blood, but that’s only at blood banks, which is a bad thing, but it’s a process.” She shakes her head again, this time to clear her head. “Is, um, is there any way she could have been outside alone at night? Like, in the past few weeks or something?”

Jerry doesn’t usually think hard, but since his wife is now technically dead, his mind is in overdrive. “Four weeks ago, she was sweeping outside. Justin was supposed to help her, but I think he either snuck away to be with you for a little bit or to use the bathroom.”

Juliet chews on her bottom lip, her fangs now receded. “I don’t know if it was my mother or my father, but I can almost guarantee it was one of them. Unless there’s another vampire somewhere in the burrough.” She pushes her hair away from her face. “Look, Mr. Russo, I’m so sorry. I can’t– I have no idea what this would be like for you. I was turned at a young age, and my parents just seconds before me. I don’t know what this is like for you.”

“Is there a way to know who it was who bit her? Like, can you smell or…?”

Juliet frowns. “You could just ask Mrs. Russo herself.”

Jerry’s heart sinks into his stomach. “And what if it’s your parents?”

“I’ll take care of it, Mr. Russo. They’ve done this to a lot of people.”

*

“Who…did this to you?”

Theresa furrows her brow and stops stirring. “What do you mean?”

Jerry walks around the kitchen island, takes her hand (her cold, cold hand), and touches her chest – her hand over her heart, him saying goodbye to his own. “It’s not beating,” and his voice breaks.

It’s not beating, and his own heart breaks.

*

“I– I don’t really remember much of that night,” Theresa says, her voice steady despite the whirlwind that just crushed them, despite the heartache that will face them. “I remember…I remember passing out, and when I woke up, the Van Heusens were standing over me. Cindy was wiping her chin.”

Jerry closes his eyes and sighs, his breath catching in his throat. “You’re not a mortal anymore, Theresa.”

Her eyes light up, with hope or fear, he’s not entirely sure. “Well, isn’t that good?”

He shakes his head. “Theresa, I gave up my powers.” He presses his forehead against hers. “They’re– the Wizard Council is not going to let us stay together.”

She cups his cheek. “But…we’ve been married for twenty-five years, and we were dating even before then. I’ve lived with wizards for the past 18 years, and I saw you use magic less than a year into our relationship. They– they wouldn’t make us split up, would they?”

“If Justin loses the competition, he will not be allowed to be with Juliet. If Alex or Max dates a creature in the wizarding world and loses the competition, they won’t be allowed to be together. There has never been an exception, especially concerning vampires or werewolves.” He holds her hands tighter, begging her, praying that she knows what he asks of her.

_ Please don’t leave me, please don’t leave me, please don’t leave me. _

She kisses him, slowly, tears falling onto her lips, and he can’t let her go.

_ Please don’t leave me. _

*

Jerry tries to tell the kids that Juliet didn’t do it, but that doesn’t stop them. No one, no family, gets to mess with the Russo children. None of his kids have even completed wizard training, not even Justin, and yet they’re all willing to go to war to avenge their mother.

Quite as it should be.

Jerry loses sleep so he can spend every last second possible with Theresa. But sometimes he wanders into the lair, and he finds his kids flipping through every magical book in the lair. He leans against the wall and crosses his arms. “Justin, you shouldn’t destroy your girlfriend because of this.”

Justin clenches his jaw.  _ “Ex. _ She is my ex-girlfriend.”

“She didn’t turn your mother.”

Justin slams the book shut and throws it to the ground, standing up so fast that Jerry reaches for his non-existent wand.

“I don’t give a shit! Her parents turned Mom into a vampire! They killed her, and God only knows if she’ll still get to keep her soul!”

Alex and Max don’t move. They don’t flinch. They wait for Justin’s lead.

Justin clenches his fist. “I will fucking  _ kill _ her! I don’t give a damn!”

“You can’t go around killing every vampire you come across!”

“And why the hell not?”

Jerry slams his fist against the brick wall, and finally, Alex and Max react, finally, Alex and Max flinch. Justin stands his ground. “Because your  _ mother _ is one, that’s why the hell not!”

Justin picks up the book and plops into the chair. “Fine. I won’t kill every vampire, but I will kill the Van Heusens.”

“It’s dangerous.”

“And thank us later because fewer people will be turned once I kill the Van Heusens.”

For the first time in his life, Jerry hopes to God that Justin doesn’t become the family wizard. For the first time in his life, Jerry hopes to God that Max is the one who wins. He presses his lips together. “Fine. Just don’t lose yourself.”

*

Justin finds them a few hours later, with Jerry’s head on Theresa’s shoulder. Theresa shakes Jerry awake, and he finds his son to be tired, with bags so dark and heavy, they look like bruises. Justin lowers himself into the chair next to the sofa and hangs his head.

“I won’t kill them.”

Jerry raises an eyebrow. “Because you couldn’t find a spell or because you listened to me?”

Justin sighs. “There is a spell, actually. I found it. Probably has some way of backfiring, if I know anything about magic.” He wipes his palms on his jeans. “Look, I– the Van Heusens need to be punished. I can call the monster hunters and report them, but they’ll…they’ll find Mom. They might put her in wizard jail.”

Theresa grips Jerry’s hands. “There has to be a solution.”

“There’s a spell where I can give you a soul. Or let you keep your soul, whatever, I don’t know how long the process takes. I want to do more research on it, but I think it’s our best option.”

“Get some sleep, son.”

As Justin trips on his way upstairs to collapse into bed, Theresa leans into Jerry’s side. “What should we do, Jerry?”

“I can’t lose you,” and that’s all he has to say about it.

*

They find out, of course.

Monster hunters discover four vampires on Waverly Place, and they round up the Van Heusens first before they come looking for Theresa.

Justin, Alex, and Max stand guard in front of their mother, ready to defend her with their wands and limited magic capabilities.

The monster hunters look at Theresa, look at Jerry, and look at the kids. “Uh, we’ll be right back,” they say, and they disappear.

Jerry pulls Theresa close to him and kisses her like it’s the last chance he’ll ever have.

*

“Okay, so this is a doozie,” Professor Tootietootie says. “First, Jerry: you were a wizard and then you gave up your powers for a girl. Theresa: you were a mortal first and then you were bitten by Cindy Van Heusen and turned into a vampire.” He throws his hands into the air. “Why can’t you two be non-mortals at the same time?”

“Wouldn’t the opposite of mortal be immortal?”

Jerry shakes his head. “Wizards die, it just takes us a couple thousand years. Vampires don’t unless they lose their vampire powers. They and angels are the only truly immortal beings in the wizarding world.”

Professor Tootietootie sits on the ottoman in front of them. “Considering your unique situation, we’re going to let you and Kelbo redo the wizard competition. I know you won fair and square in the first place, but wizard law says that once you give up your powers, you can only gain them back in a wizard competition. If you win, you and Theresa stay together, and we won’t have monster hunters get her. We can already tell your kids used magic for her to keep her soul.”

Jerry hasn’t practiced magic in over twenty years. He’s rusty. He knows the spells, and he knows the movements, but he has no wand anymore. But Kelbo has been practicing magic for the past 25 years, and he has become good at it, and it is now more intuitive for him than anything else.

(Magic used to be intuitive for him, too.)

“What happens if I lose?” He doesn’t look at Theresa as he asks the question.

Professor Tootietootie sighs. “You’ll have to divorce.”

*

It hasn’t been often in the past few weeks that Theresa is the one to lean on Jerry, but after Tootietootie leaves, she loops her arm through Jerry’s and nestles into his side. “Jerry, promise me you’re going to win.”

He swallows heavily. “Last time I went up against my little brother and little sister, and they weren’t really that good. Megan was further behind than Alex is currently, and Kelbo wasn’t that talented either. But now, Kelbo is a full wizard with unlimited powers. Unless they change up the competition from last time, then he’ll win. I haven’t practiced magic in over two decades.”

He feels eyes on the back of his head. “Kids?”

One by one, the kids file into the living room. Justin just looks weary, like he’s twenty years older than his seventeen years. His eyes are heavy but resigned, and he’s the first one who hugs both of his parents individually. Max’s face twists in pain, and he lifts his shirt to wipe away his tears. Alex stands close to the door, her arms crossed, her chin trembling, tears welling up in her eyes.

“What’s going to happen to Mom?”

Jerry picks at the dirt underneath his fingernails. “Depends on if I can win the wizard competition.”

*

Justin stays with them after Alex and Max go up to bed to cry. He knew what would happen, he knew this was coming, and maybe that’s why he is resigned instead of crying like his siblings. Maybe he is all cried out.

“Dad, you have to win.”

“Justin, I don’t know if I can –”

“Dad.” Justin holds Jerry’s gaze. “I know you can win. You won once, and you’ve fixed Uncle Kelbo’s messes even after he was a full wizard. You can do this.”

Jerry can’t voice his biggest fear, can’t admit that he truly thinks he can’t do this.

Justin leans forward. “Look, you know why I haven’t taken my standing in the competition for granted? Because Max and Alex refuse to give up. Alex’s magic comes so naturally to her, even if she doesn’t know as many spells as I do. Max works hard, and he can figure magic out. He surprises all of us. Maybe you need to take a lesson from all of us.” He takes a deep breath. “Look, I’m going to bed. I doubt I’ll sleep, but that’s where I’ll be.”

Jerry takes Theresa’s hand, and he wants to beg her to sit in silence and soak up the last moments they’ll have together.

Theresa gently grips his chin and presses a soft kiss to his lips. “Justin’s right. All three of our children use magic differently. Justin knows every spell and it’s part of him. He applies his knowledge. Alex knows the art of magic. Max is going to surprise everyone. You taught all of them, so it must somewhere be a part of you. You have to win. You have to win for me. For the kids.”

*

Jerry loves his brother.

Depending on the situation, Jerry is willing to die for his brother (unless, of course, his wife or children are in danger, then Jerry is definitely going to protect them first).

Jerry loves his brother, and he gave his powers to his brother. Jerry loves his brother, but he’s going to do everything he possibly can to make sure Kelbo loses his powers.

Since Jerry is admittedly out of practice, there’s a series of drills and warm-ups that don’t count towards the competition. Within minutes, Jerry remembers.

He remembers the spells. He remembers twirling his wand in his hand, much the same way Justin does. He remembers the way to flick his wrist, especially when casting a spell nonverbally. He remembers the art of magic, how to dance with the magic. He remembers how to use the most random of spells to accomplish the same goal. He remembers magic.

He remembers magic, and he is going to win.

**Author's Note:**

> Like it, love it, hate it? Do you think Jerry won or lost the competition? Leave a comment below!


End file.
